4
"Another one please."
Lana had just ordered her second c.ocktail for the night, and at that point, it seemed like an essential nectar for her sanity. Her mind kept playing over and over the single kiss Lex and that woman had just exchanged for the sake of traditions. It was like an autonomous part of herself insisted on hitting an invisible 'rewind' button , so that she could enjoy the scene of her husband's strong liplock with some random chick...Hold on a minute...Had she just thought of him as "her husband"?...Lana took a long sip from her drink. That was certainly not fine.
If she had to be frank with herself, it had never really been fine. Especially after their last haunting kiss. Since then, everyone and everything seemed to have embarked on a train wreck, with the speed up to its limits and the brakes nowhere to be seen. And tonight, she had witnessed herself drowning to him once again...But the scariest thought, was the one that had sneakily nested in the nerves of her mind for the last 20 minutes, pretty much after the mistletoe kiss. Had she really dared to think of something like that? Judging by her reactions, it was no lie she had missed the manly taste of his lips. But could she allow herself to make the one mistake after the other? Her logic was telling her to not give into the temptation. If not for her, then for Clark. Their status was still cloudy, he deserved at least something better that a second betrayal.
Her unfocused gaze danced on the people around her.She could imagine herself spending the rest of the night drinking by the bar, ensnared by her own savior and destructor.Until her eyes settled on a certain farm boy. A farm boy that seemed indifferent to her presence by the bar. A farm boy whose eyes were glued on a certain black dress. A string was pulled by an ethereal hand, and Lana Lang had just changed her mind.
ooooooooooo
"Hey Chloe..."
"Hey yourself."
"Where's Jimmy?"
"I sent him to bring us drinks. It's been a while, so i won't be surprised if he is somewhere turning people dizzy with his jabbering. Where have you been?"
Clark exhaled deeply as he made himself further comfortable on the couch. The expression of his face had a great resemblance to the one of his brooding days. And the night was certainly the least appropriate for any type of brooding.
"I screwed everything up, Chloe. And i probably chose the worst time to do that."
It took less than a minute for Chloe to understand that Clark was talking about his relationship with a certain brunette. It had been her daily routine by now.Placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, she silently urged him to continue.
"I don't really know how it happened. I mean...the one minute i was there to comfort her, and the next minute i was standing alone with my pride trashed on the floor again."
"Clark.." she spoke calmly..."did Lana ask for your comfort?"
"Technically no. But , come on Chloe, you saw yourself she was upset with Lex's appearance, so I figured.."
Chloe shook her head. "It's another thing being upset over someone , Clark, and another thing letting others getting involved with your emotions. You don't need to figure anything anymore. You and Lana know each other pretty well by now, what you need to acknowledge is to leave some personal space to each other for this relationship to finally work."
"Do we , Chloe?...do we really know each other? I barely recognize her anymore. I thought this was just a phase she was going through...a pretty hard one yes, but still...a phase...But,i don't know,how long I should wait for her to finally clear her mind and find her old self back?.."
"Do you love her?"
"Yes?" Clark answered unsure about the purpose of her words...
"Then you shouldn't even been asking yourself that question."
ooooooooooo
Lana drifted through the dancing couples, the long awaited eagerness for something that until the previous day seemed untouchable, reflecting in her eyes.She couldn't help but wittily smile at the thought of the wicked plan she had just put into force. Having located the 'gun' that would help her commit her 'crime' - a little mistletoe hanging from a painting - , she had proceeded into putting the bait in the game; Frank Sinatra's voice was already warming the hearts of many strangers in that night.The DJ had been proved really helpful, and if her plan worked as she wished, she would definitely owe him. Now all that was left for her, was to find her own stranger. Surprisingly, this had been proved the most difficult part, as Lex was out of sight. Lana considered her options. She could either search for him at every room of this place...and risk to bump on another unpleasant kissing scene involving him...she could always , of course, wait for him here, as he might have always forgotten himself outside in the wide balcony or even in the bathroom...and risk for the song to come to its end before her managing to sway to its melody...or she could just return to her familiar place by the bar, since Lex might have had noticed the bait, and the cunning man he was, showily ignored it.
"Don't you just love those good, old ballads..."
His whisper sent arousing shivers down her spine, as his hot breath caressed the back of her exposed neck...Lana's sight got hazy, clouded by the storming emotions his presence was filling her with. Taking a step further, he placed his hands on her hips , and he set the start of a light swinging of their bodies.
"Let's not leave this song waiting for us...shall we?"
Lana was breathing heavily. She struggled to put her thoughts and priorities in order, but his hard body flashed against her back was not helping at all. His invitation, however, ignited a light bulb somewhere in her head, bringing her back to the path leading to her initial cause. Shifting in his arms, she ended up facing him. They stood there...silent and still for a mere second that seemed almost like an eternity... surrendering to the erotic tension that radiated in waves from both of them...Then, with no words spoken, she wrapped her arms around his neck, he placed his hands firmly on her waist, and started swaying as one to the song, mixing themselves with the rest enraptured couples.
ooooooooooo
"Jesus..."
Chloe silenced herself the moment Clark spoke, looking at him confused.She was still explaining to him a few things about his current status with Lana and she had honestly no idea where Jesus fit in any of her precious advice.
"Look over there...at...at the the people...dancing..." Clark barely mumbled, his whole essence transfixed by the scene in front of him. A scene he didn't want to believe.
Chloe followed his petrified stare and was taken aback herself by the sight of Lex and Lana dancing together among the rest couples.
"Now this...I don't know..." she was clearly at a loss for words.
"What were you saying again about leaving...personal space? So that someone else can jump in and cover it?" Clark's raising anger was graving his features.
"Look Clark, I'm not sure how and why they ended up dancing, but that doesn't mean Lana has forgiven Lex ..or that anything has changed .. I mean, it's Christmas, it's a party, alcohol is the guest star of this place...and.."
"Chloe, how do you find Sinatra?"
She quizzically looked at him, her eyebrows joined together, revealing her confusion. After a second thought though, her eyes widened.
"No way , Clark. What you can possibly gain out of this?"
"Lana had a few drinks tonight, I can tell. She also argued with me. I won't let Lex take advantage of that situation and sell his lies to her all over again."
"Oh right. Thus you ll pop up between them like a godsend knight, kill the beast and take the maiden back home, safe and sound. And did i add that all these will happen while you will be slow dancing to 'Strangers in the night'"?
Clark rolled his eyes. "Jeez, Chloe, we are just gonna dance a little around them and make sure everything is alright. I'm not planning on separating them like this, i learned my lesson tonight."
She chewed on her bottom lip , looking around uncertain. "I have a bad feeling about this"
Clark stood and dragged her with him towards the dancing people. "Can't you wonder over that bad feeling of yours on the dance floor?"
"Well, technically, it's not a dance floor."
They both sneaked through the guests, leaving Jimmy , who had just showed up holding a drink with each hand, looking at them totally lost.
"Hey, CK! Last time i checked , i was supposed to dance with her!".
ooooooooooo
Lana averted her eyes from his blues, as they kept moving smoothly. Her previous fear, that if she looked inside his fiery orbs for too long, she would become their slave forever, was still torturing every breath of hers. The same closeness she counted on being the key to unlock the success of her plan, was the exact same closeness that proved to be her biggest obstacle. She was finding it hard to concentrate on leading him under the mistletoe. With every breath, she inhaled his intoxicant after shave , taking his aroma down to her soul...and suddenly , she was home again...she was waking up again in the mansion, smelling the same after shave like she used to do every blessed morning...
"Isn't it funny, I wonder...if you stand and think of it...how come, out of all songs, this one started...the exact same moment you so randomly found yourself among the dancers..."
"Yes, it is ...imagine that, random things happen the most unexpected moments..."
"Oh I bet they do..."
That was the solution. Talking. Keeping him talking. Even if he could see through her lie, even if he already knew who had requested the song and why, the true reason of the request was yet hidden from him.Lana threw a quick glance over his shoulder. In a few steps they would be standing under the mistletoe. She had to keep leading him to that direction, even though the fact she was the female, didn't help much on who was leading whom during the dance.
"You do understand though that this dance doesn't change anything between us..."
"Well I wasn't deluding myself thinking that a dance equals a second marriage."
"You always like to joke Lex, don't you? ...I m surprised though that you often think about something as dead as our marriage."
"Surely not more than how often you remember the nights we spent alone, swaying to this song...again...and again..."
She was provoking...and she was mercilessly being provoked back. Her attention drifted around and, unintentionally, landed on another interesting couple dancing pretty close to them. Her eyes narrowed.
ooooooooooo
"You aren't using your super hearing, are you?"
"Chloe! I would never do that"
"Well, why not? That was the original reason you dragged me over here, wasn't it? Eavesdropping them."
"Not at all. I told ya. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright."
"Oh really? And how exactly then you were planning on finding out if it was?"
"I get it, all this because i asked you to dance with me and help me out. And now you started the smart-pants comments."
"Sshh...I think Lana just noticed us..."
"Finally! If you ask me. Cause till now she seemed like hypnotized."
"Just keep dancing , Clark...there is a long night ahead for you to keep whining."
They kept swinging around, when Clark felt someone nudging him with his elbow. Both turned their heads on their left almost simultaneously, only to come across Jimmy slow dancing with a young brunette.
" Hey, CK...don't you think MY hands should be the ones placed there?" Jimmy asked slightly annoyed.
"Jimmy!" Chloe almost exclaimed. She quickly though lowered her voice, after glancing around " What are you doing?"
" Well what does it look like I'm doing? I m slow dancing. I didn't know that was just your privilege." He emphasized the last word.
"Jimmy, don't be petty now..."
"The real question though is why are YOU dancing?"
" We aren't. We are on a mission."
Both couples kept moving to the music, with Clark's eyes locked on the reason of his distress.
" Chloe, for some reason they seem to move towards that wall on their right, with the big painting in the middle"
" And let me guess...want it or not, we will do the same thing...", she sighed before Jimmy circled her, always escorted by the brunette, and whispered close to her ear.
" I want in "
Chloe pierced him with her angry eyes.
"What now? Where?"
"That mission you have. I want in."
"But why they keep moving towards the wall. There is so much space for them to dance with ease. I don't get it." Clark's mumbling reached her ears.
"Ok you both, can you stop talking to me at the same time, in the middle of a dance?"
ooooooooooo
Almost there now. They were almost there. One more step for Lex, two more steps for her...and they would find themselves in the most inconceivable yet enthralling moment of their separate lives.She had noticed her friends around...Clark dancing with Chloe...Jimmy dancing around them...actually attempting to dance, cause he seemed rather clumsy...Few steps away from them, Lois and Grant swaying and also casting glances at them...But she couldn't care less...for she lived for the moment..and that moment was just hers and Lex's..and would soon be completed with the most sensual way, freeing all those hidden emotions from the dungeons of their hearts...Lex was there now, just another step for her...just another...
"Aaahhh, you jerk!" ...the brunette's voice scattered the magic of the moment in one thousand pieces...And who would blame her, as Jimmy's clumsiness and lack of concentration thanks to his friends, was inevitably translated in stepping on the girl's foot, before tripping and falling forward. There, where only Grant and Lois were carelessly dancing in each other's arms. The domino effect didn't waste any time in occurring...Jimmy fell onto Grant...who, inevitably , pushed Lois backwards...who, with her turn, ended up suddenly next to the wall, with her back towards that expensive painting decorating its surface...under the little mistletoe, which suddenly didn't look as little...and of course, with Lex by her side...
"Are you alright, Lois?" Grant asked with concern.
"Yeah guys...sorry for that" Jimmy mumbled, his shame painting his face a dark shade of red.
Lois waved her hand. "Don't flatter yourself , Grant, you aren't that strong. It was just a little push, I m fine. But you both better keep your balance next time, before sending anyone flying the other side of the room."
Grant smirked evilly. "Well then, since you are just fine, you will surely care to know you and Mr. Luthor happen to stand under a mistletoe." Everyone lifted up their eyes to the direction Grant had pointed, and Lana felt all her blood being drained out of her veins, for the second time that night.
Lex glanced coldly at his brother. The b.astard. He had put mistletoes on every possible corner. He had to ask him later if he was taking any sick pleasure in watching him kissing his girlfriend.
"You guys must be kidding, right?" Lois chuckled , the thought of kissing Lex Luthor seeming like a joke straight from hell to her. "You don't expect us to kiss, do you?"
"Well why not?" Grant seemed amused by the whole scene. "That's why we put the mistletoes, right Mr Luthor?"
Oh yeah, he was definitely going down. Lex's face was unreadable.
" I suppose you know better, Mr Gabriel, since you are the one that filled the place with them"
Grant's answer came through his wide grin , making Lex's blood boil even more and , for the first time during the night, the cause of his personal maelstrom wasn't the brunette fairie by his side.
"Who would believe it , Mr. Luthor! Again, the lucky man of traditions"
Lex tightened his teeth. He didn't need, of course, to turn around and face the man that had just approached them, in order to acknowledge who he was.
"Senator Sheridan" Grant exclaimed. "Enjoying the party?"
"Undoubtedly Mr. Gabriel, your gala has been a pleasant surprise up to now. Certainly though, i feel jealous of Mr.Luthor's unmatchable luck tonight."
"Congratulations, then, Mr.Gabriel...you just won a regular guest to your Christmas galas" Lex sarcastically added, before turning to face Lana. He already had an audience...again...and it seemed rather impossible to get out of this situation unharmed...so at least he could try and have the less casualties. His apologetic look to her was revealing everything that lied untold. His eyes eagerly searched for her permission and he didn't delay in finding it in the depths of her own. Bringing his attention back to Lois, he didn't miss the worried glances she exchanged with a mortified Clark, before fixing her stare completely on his persona.
There was a moment of absolute silence, as awkwardness spread out upon the small group of people standing next to the big painting of the room. For what seemed less than a second, everything stood perfectly still, resembling some odd ritual before the outburst of the havoc. And then , Lois, with one quick movement, stepped closer to him and brought her ruby lips in perfect contact with his own...cracking the stillness.
Their kiss, better say their peck, finished sooner than it had actually started. They hurried in putting as much distance between them as their good manners and the occasion allowed them to. The first priority of Lex was to check Lana's reaction. The suspicions that had crossed his mind in speed light, the moment he noticed the mistletoe, were about to come true; Lana's face had once again turn to stone, her eyes shining the same anger and scorn they had been caved in ever since their breaking up. But he knew this had nothing to do with the meaningless peck he and Lois had shared. Jealousy was not the issue. It was just that the spell, that had been thrust upon them during the dance, had been broken. And everything had found their way back to the shadows. He sourly watched as Lana, averting her eyes from him, glared at the direction of Chloe, Clark and Jimmy, before coldly announcing her heading for the bar.
" If you excuse me, my drink is waiting for me at the bar."
Her absence seemed to stir everyone from their petrified slumber. "In case you didn't notice, the show's over guys" Lois mordantly waved her hands at the rest, denoting their return to the party.
"Well, technically, that wasn't a real kiss" Jimmy lowly muttered , as he passed by Lex, gaining the billionaire's fatal glare.